Hidden Love
by zkay
Summary: A short Christmas Story for all hopeless romantics out there! Enjoy! [Ranma & Akane]


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**Disclaimer: All Ranma ½ characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video**

Well! This is my first One-Shot story! This is a Christmas Special dedicated to every one of you, wishing you a Merry Christmas! May all your wishes come true! Special thanks to my good friend Linda. She helped to choose the title. Thankies Lil!

This story is written in Akane's POV.

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**A Ranma ½ Fanfiction  
By Kay  
Hidden Love  
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for: it is a thing to be achieved. **

_Summary: A short Christmas Story for all hopeless romantics out there! Enjoy! Ranma & Akane_

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It was Christmas Eve. It had begun to snow the night before, covering Nerima with layers of soft white snow, making it look like paradise.

For some absurd purposes, reasons unknown, their usually crazed and delusional principal decided to be intelligent for once. (A/N: Don't ask me how! I have no idea too!) He organized a Christmas gathering in school. Basically, it is a Ball. Well, due to the school committee's brilliant suggestions (A/N: You don't expect Principal Kuno to be this smart, do you?), they decided to make it mysterious and romantic. They obtained suggestions from the students. (A/N: Those old teachers have no idea of young love…) After much discussion, they have decided on holding a Masked Ball where everyone has to wear a mask to prevent being identified. At the stroke of midnight, a bell will be rung to indicate the moment of revealing the identity of their mystery date.

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I looked at myself in the mirror.

My long blue gown clung to my figure nicely, giving me an angelic look. There was a slight sparkle with each movement I made. My white silk gloves only served to contrast it better. This is my favourite gown as it is incredibly beautiful. I hadn't had the chance to wear it as I was saving it for the right occasion. Now seems like just the right time.

"What do you think?" I turned to Kasumi who was doing my hair. I enlisted her help as she seems to have an impeccable taste in clothing.

"Akane-chan, you look stunning! He'll just die when he sees you!" Kasumi said while handing me my mask. I turned to the mirror as I put on my mask. The mask was made partially out of peacock feathers dyed in different vibrant colours and there were some sticking out at the top.

"Who said this was for Ranma?" I replied while trying my best to keep my temper in check. He had been avoiding me lately. He's always gone in the morning. Goodness knows what he's been up to lately. Recently, he's been wondering off for hours only to come back just before dinner! And what's worse, he heads straight up to his room and doze off. I hardly even get to see him except for those few minutes when I sneaked into his room at night to check on him.(not that I'm a pervert or anything)

"Hmm… who said it was Ranma…" she trailed off while all the time smiling at me, looking absolutely innocent. However, her eyes told a different story. They were telling me something like 'You said so yourself! I didn't even mention his name!'.

In a futile attempt to cover my embarrassment, I grabbed my handbag and turned to the door. "I have to get going. The ball is starting without me."

I fumbled with the door knob as my gloves made it rather hard to grip. Another reason was because I actually admitted that I was doing this for Ranma. I always got a little flustered about matters concerning that arrogant jerk also known as my fiancé. After the door swung open, I wasted no time in getting out of the room, getting out of that embarrassing situation.

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It was strange walking into the hall and not recognising anyone. The hall was filled with so many masked people. Some were already enjoying themselves dancing while others were just sitting down chatting and drinking their punch. The place was fairly dim and the only source of light was the huge disco ball placed in the centre of the hall. It also portrayed what I would call a frosty image, seeing as how the place was decorated with cotton hanging all over the place, attempting to make it look like real snow.

I looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ranma. No such luck, the only person I reconised was Principal Kuno. It's easy to tell, judging from the students' screams and of course, the pair of scissors in his hands.

Suddenly, I felt someone tapping me on my shoulder. I turned and was caught by surprise as two people pounced on me, hugging me like there was no tomorrow and squealing some incoherent words. I staggered a few steps back partially because of the force while I struggled for air. All I managed to choke out was "Yuka, Sayuri".

After we broke apart, we looked at each other and started laughing.

"You look like an exotic bird!" Yuka commented bluntly, pointing at me while trying her best to stifle her giggles.

"Why! You look like a peacock yourself!" I retorted while giving her what I hoped was an angry pout.

We stared at each other for another moment before bursting into rows of laughter.

"Let's go over there." Sayuri said, pulling me nearer towards the dance floor.

"Wait! Where's Yuka?" I turned to Yuka who was currently engaging in an extremely "interesting" conversation with Hiroshi.

"Let's not disturb them." Sayuri said with a grin before adding in "We can extort the 'details' from her later!" she winked.

"Sounds good!" I said grinning back.

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We were seated in the corner of the hall sipping our drinks, commenting or rather gossiping about Yuka while silently giggling to ourselves.

Suddenly, Sayuri nudged me in the ribs and whispered into my ear "Hey! That guy's been staring at you for some time now! Look! He's coming over right now."

She pointed at the guy that was walking over to us. He wore a simple white shirt with a pair of matching black pants along with a black mask. His gaze shifted from Sayuri to me. "May I have the honour of dancing with you?" He asked me kindly while holding out his hand.

I looked at Sayuri, silently begging her for help. No such luck!

She practically threw me into his arms, winking at me. "Go for it!" she told me.

I didn't want to dance with someone I don't know. Who am I kidding?! I don't even want to dance with people I know. I just want to dance with… I halted and left my thoughts trailing off. What was I thinking?! I almost admitted that… well… what's there to hide?! Isn't it obvious?!

But I will feel bad rejecting him… He seemed nice and I didn't want to crush the hopeful expression on his face. Well, this is a ball. Who comes to a ball and don't even dance?! I figured one dance would be alright. I took the guy's hand, allowing him to lead me onto the dance floor.

"You look really beautiful tonight." I recognised his voice and thought it seemed vaguely familiar but paid no attention to it as he encircled his arms around my waist and mine around his neck.

"Do you even know who I am?" I asked him with a slight smile.

"Maybe" He said with a knowing smile. For a moment, I thought he was smirking behind the mask. The music then changed to a slow one as we gently swayed along with it. The sparkling light made it look like what you may call a romantic moment.

We danced quietly for quite some time, enjoying the rare peace seldom seen in Nerima. After a while, he broke the silence by asking "Hmm… you're spending too much time with me, won't your date be jealous?"

"What do you mean by date?!" I replied almost angrily. I've been waiting for 'you know who' to ask me all week and until now, he's still nowhere in sight.

"A date, you know, one whom you go with on dates and stuff." He replied casually.

Is he mocking me?! I'm not in the mood for jokes now! I'm not stupid! Of course I know what a date is.

"He er… No one asked me". I wanted to say 'he didn't ask me' but I changed it the last moment. Why should I let him know that I was waiting for someone?! It wasn't that no one asked me. I had plenty of invitations; it's just that… just that I only wanted to go with him.

"I don't believe you… how could someone as beautiful as you have no dates at all"

Now! What did he mean by that?! Did he know who am I?! Is my cover blown?! Had he known from the start?! Just who is he?! And plenty of other questions flew into my already confused mind in only a spilt matter of seconds. I wanted to ask him. Question all my doubts but coincidently at the moment I wanted to ask, I felt him drag me away while whispering softly "Let's go out for a walk". He offered him his arm, his eyes gently pleading with me to accept his offer. I hesitated a moment before lacing my arm with his allowing him to lead the way. I had some questions to ask him anyway, and a noisy ballroom doesn't seem to be the right place for questions.

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He led me out of the building and into the school field. The trees and fence were also decorated with bright Christmas lights. We finally settled for sitting on a bench while we admired the sky. There seem to be more stars out here tonight. The dark sky served to make the stars stand out even more. And the falling snow only added to its beauty.

I tried to sneak glances at my mystery date, hopefully to figure out who he was. I recognised his voice and his eyes and though they were familiar to me they were still so strange. They seemed to have an unusual softness in them. Every time he sensed my gaze he would turn to look at me, I simply blushed and reverted my gaze towards the floor.

"So… tell me about yourself, why you didn't have a date? Like I said I'm sure someone as beautiful as you should have a date, if not more" he said suddenly.

"How would you know I'm beautiful?! For all you know, I may be disfigured behind the mask!"

He sighed. "Stubborn, aren't you?! I was wondering if you could give me some advice."

"What type of advice?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm a guy, I don't know the mind of girl and I thought you could help me with it. There's this girl that I really like, she's a really stubborn person so normal talking wouldn't do. I doubt she would even believe me if I told her I liked her. But I couldn't blame her for that; it's my fault anyway for her lack of trust. I'm been a real jerk to her, always making her upset and mad. My mouth works faster than my mind. I always say things I don't mean but it ends up hurting her. What could I do to change her opinion of me?". With that, he ended his short speech and looked straight my eyes.

He looked shocked to find me staring back at him. I blinked and looked away. "Sorry about that…you just remind me of someone. Anyway, what you could do is try to clear things up between the both of you, have a nice talk. If she still refuses to believe you, be annoying and persistent. She'll come around. What's important is you must show that you're sincere or else it won't work."

"I'll try it… hopefully it'll work out. Thanks for the advice!"

Seeing an opportunity, I grabbed it and switched the topic. "Do I get a reward for my brilliant advice?"

"Well, what do you want? If it's within my means, then fine…"

"I want to see who my masked man is." I said with a smile. He seemed surprised at first but that look of amusement didn't last long and changed to a playful grin.

"Does your masked man get anything for being so nice to you?" He asked while leaning closer. I felt his hand reaching for mine and he held it tightly against his chest. I stopped all movement as I felt my skin tingle slightly while staring at my hand. He looked at his hand as well. I panicked and made the wrong decision of looking up. Looking straight into his deep blue eyes… and I found that… I couldn't break away.

He stared at me, his grin replaced by a look of determination. I could feel his other hand on the small of my back, the encircling itself around my waist. I felt as if I've known him for a very long time and not some stranger I've met only hours ago. I wasn't in control, my emotions were. It didn't feel awkward, instead it felt natural. Natural to hold him close.

My eyes couldn't help but flutter close as the distance between our faces got closer. I felt his breath hovering at my lips followed by the soft skin of his lips touching mine. The moment they touched, he pulled me closer. I knew the right decision was to pull away and I was fighting an inner battle with my heart and my rational mind. My heart won in the end and allowed my arms to encircle his neck as our kiss intensified into an even passionate one.

After what seemed like an eternity, a loud bell rang throughout the school. The marking of midnight, the time I'll finally find out who my mystery man was. I'm so eager to find out but I wanted the kiss more. In such rare moments like this, who minded the bells? I didn't want to let go, I was craving for oxygen but the fact that our kiss had just gotten better stopped me from surfacing for air. Finally, my will power gave in and I broke away, heavily inhaling the oxygen around me. I looked up at him, a slight blush colouring my cheeks.

He smiled gently at me and I felt his hand tangle in my hair. My blue-black shoulder length hair framed my face as he slowly pulled my mask away. My disguise was gone; there was no hiding who I was now. It didn't matter anyway; I had a feeling he knew who I was from the very beginning. He had seen through my disguise and saw the girl beneath it all.

My heart was beating loudly against my chest as I slowly raised both hands to his mask. I lifted it and pulled it over his head and got a shock of a lifetime. I gasped. "Ranma" I breathed. He gave me a weak and worrying smile. I wasted no time in pushing him away while my hands flew to my mouth; I had been kissing Ranma, the most insensitive jerk in all history, the boy who could be sweet and tender in those rare moments, the boy who was my fiancé.

"Please… let me explain" He pleaded desperately, grabbing tightly onto my hand. I stopped and stared at my hand held tightly in his. I shifted my gaze and looked into his eyes; they held so much hope and desperation. I couldn't bring myself to reject him now, not that I wanted to. I've been waiting for this moment for too long. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the kiss or anything. I just felt insecure, like this was all a dream. I wasn't sure anymore, I'm still shocked at how things had progressed. I didn't know what to do anymore, what if this was all a trick? What if this wasn't really Ranma? What if this was Shampoo in a disguise. The real Ranma would never look at me this way, his eyes filled with passion and love. Could I believe him? Could I afford another heartbreak? He had never really said the words but what we felt was there. Or was it a misconception on my part?

However, all my doubts and fears disappeared instantly as I heard him whisper the most beautiful words I've been longing to hear.

"I love you"

I watched him carefully, not taking my eyes off him and searched for any signs that he may be lying. For the next few moments, all I did was to stare at him, and all he did was to stare right back. I didn't know my silence was killing him inside, making him even more nervous. I haven said anything or even moved a muscle since his passionate declaration.

"Well, I tried." He said dejectedly, "I'll stop bothering you now." He whispered almost quietly to himself. His eyes portrayed a deep sorrow and I felt as if his spirit was crushed.

He turned and began to walk away. My heart stopped; did I cause him so much pain? Was I the cause of his despair? Did he like me that much?

I put away my fears and steeled my determination. I ran up to him, hugging him from behind. He stopped.

"I feel the same. If it means always getting this warm and fuzzy feeling fluttering in my heart whenever you're close by then, it's still there. Always thinking of you whenever you're away, never having left my mind."

It wasn't some earth shattering declaration. I didn't even say the exact words, not enough guts I guess but you get the point. He turned and gazed into my eyes holding both my hands tightly in his. "You-you mean that?" He asked nervously. I smiled.

Words never seem to work for us; we always end up saying the wrong thing. Saying the things we never meant to and hurting the people who meant the world to us. So I decided to use actions to convey my message instead. I reached up and pressed my lips against his once again. We pulled away after a few seconds.

"Will you be my girlfriend then? Not for our parents but for us." he muttered softly, if as afraid of an answer.

Seeing him so nervous made me feel like I had authority over him and I decided to tease him a little. "I'll need some persuasion." I replied back, smirking slightly. He took the hint and I smiled as I felt him pulling me into another kiss.

No words were needed for actions speak louder than words. In that moment, we knew it wasn't just a beautiful end; it was a beautiful start as well.

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**End  
**_Reviews are highly appreciated. Thank You!_

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Aw… isn't that sweet??

Okay! Number 1, I have no idea how to write this as I have NEVER fallen in love! (yet) All this is based on knowledge of fairy tales and thankfully watching too much television. (It has finally paid off)

Number 2, I don't know how to dance and I have never been to a ball. I have absolutely no idea how a ball should look like. As usual, all this is based on fairy tales, television, my creative imagination and unique ability to visualize.

Number 3, I have never seen snow… (Sad huh…) I'm not sure how to describe it so I'm basically writing from what I gathered.

Okay! Questions! Wondered why it's so peaceful with no angry fiancées ruining the scene. Well, I figured its Christmas so I decided to give it a little Christmas magic. There's such a thing as miracles, you know! If you believe, it will come true! First, you got to have faith!

Well, that's all! Hope you enjoyed it!****

-Katie-


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